About

$63,491

pledged of $50,000 goal

1,149

backers

If you haven't watched the above video, I encourage you to check it out. Themba Moyo and Buster Moody did a bang-up job on it, and I'm proud to have had their help and support with this project. (If you'd like to see the video in eye-searing, mind-rending 1080p, check it out here.)

Want to immediately see the art? Go here to see the first of the tumblr art updates!

Symbiosis is a Creative Commons licensed, world-building art book by comic and concept artist Steven Sanders. It explores a world where there are no mechanical sources of power. Instead, humanity has learned to utilize biological engines that harness a "bio-ether" present on the planet. They can control and feel what these bio-engines feel via a "Resonance Tooth." Consider it 1940s era bio-punk.

The Creative Commons licensing turns this book into a world-building toolkit that you can use to make your own RPGs, comics, cosplay, novels, or anything you can imagine that is inspired by the world in this book.

It's the first book of its kind.

UPDATE 3/15: WE JUST FUNDED!

Here's a couple stand-in stretch goals until I hear back from the printer:

The major one:

75K If we can bring in pledges hand over fist, I'll bump the page count back up to my original planned count of 200 pages for the book!

Closest one:

60K Free Symbiosis "PRO SPAGYRICO, YLIASTER" stickers with every physical order. 300DPi digital file with every digital order. I'll leave the fun of learning up to the reader to translate the latin.

I've had the pleasure of a number of people I am proud to call my friends and peers lending their support for this book.

Jason Aaron (THOR, WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN, SCALPED ): "This is a whole book of pure, unadulterated Steven Sanders imagination
-- for me, that's the part I'm excited about. I will for sure be buying
my copy of Symbiosis."

Arnie & Cathy Fenner (Directors- Spectrum Fantastic Art LLC) "Steven Sanders has vision—and perhaps more importantly, he has the ability to transform that vision into reality. 'Symbiosis' doesn't conform to expectations but, rather, stretches and breaks boundaries—as all original and unique fictions should. In lesser artistic hands, we'd be skeptical; in Steven's…well, count us in as fellow travelers on this journey."

Matt Fraction (CASANOVA, FANTASTIC FOUR, FIVE FISTS OF SCIENCE, HAWKEYE ): "I found (Steven's work) hypnotic, and evocative, and inspiring, and so
incredibly well-realized and designed that I wanted to stare at it for
hours and have things like that in my life."

Kieron Gillen (IRON MAN, YOUNG AVENGERS, S.W.O.R.D.): "...you
always get the idea that Steve may have these spaceships in his
basement." "...I just want to see (Symbiosis). I just want to see what
he does when given an entirely blank canvas."

Sam Humphries(UNCANNY X-FORCE, SACRIFICE, OUR LOVE IS REAL): "Steven is the artist without fear. It's a really great project, I'm going to support it, and so should you."

Nikola Tesla (dead genius, inventor of poly-phase alternating current system): "I have come from beyond the grave, through the etheric plane, simply to
gaze upon this epic work. My long-dead eyes are filled with
anticipation and excitement."

THE BOOK

One thing that I have heard repeatedly from writers I've worked with is
that my artwork is evocative. It makes them want to tell stories. I've
spent a lot of time in the fan-bases of various genres, and feel that inside of every consumer is a creator. The
fans are just as much a part of the process of story-building as the
creators are. At its core, that is what this book is about: you becoming my co-creator. Symbiosis
is a world-building art book that tells the story of a woman's travels
through a world where the symbiotic relationship that we have with
technology is made much more visceral. All sources of power are
generated by bio-etheric engines, with which the operators share a
direct mental link. The story-telling is loose and mostly visual. It will be told with art that uses a variety of media and formats: fully painted, colored line art, black-and-white line art, and comic art.

What you do with this story is up to you. Enjoy it on its own merits, or take it and spin it off into any of a million different directions.

The world-building in Symbiosis will encompass ethnic and political
groups, ecology, biology, physics, mechanics/power transmission, trade,
agriculture, war, religion, medicine...anything and everything I can fit
in these 100+ pages.Katherine Aeneaswill
be your guide through this world. Something like a Virgil to your
Dante, albeit on a journey through a much more pleasant world.

The book will be 100+ pages and is being sold in two formats. One is an
e-book that is in both PDF and CBR format, in web and HD tablet
resolution. The other is an 11x17
high-end hardcover, with a clamshell box, gold foil logo on the box
front and spine, a debossed logo on the book cover, and tipped-in vellum
sheets for informational overlays in various parts of the book. The binding is Smyth sewn. If you want to know why Smyth sewn binding is so critical to a quality book, clickhere. The
hardcover is an ode to old books that I love and grew up with, and now
collect. I researched how they were made, how and why they last, and I
am duplicating these books as much as I can while still making it
affordable.

For collectors: The limitation page (where the number out of the total print run the book is, and where my signature goes) is sewn into the book along with the rest of the pages. There are no pasted elements to this book, just the tipped-in/edge glued vellum sheets, which is standard procedure for pages of different materials, which due to placement, cannot be sewn into the book. If you are a collector with any other questions, feel free to contact me with questions.

The only hardcovers printed will be the ones made through this Kickstarter. The signed and numbered edition produced here will be it. For those who care about such things, books of this sort tend to increase in value rapidly, frequently doubling or tripling in value in a matter of months.

The e-book is based around how I think digital media should be handled. (Cheaply, without copy-protection, and in as many formats as possible.) In a sense, it will be an experiment to see if these ideas hold any weight in the market.

CREATIVE COMMONS

Symbiosis is about encouraging creativity. The Creative Commons licensing* will allow people to take this world,
where I have done the artistic and conceptual heavy lifting, and use it
however they'd like. It's about taking this book, being inspired, and
HAVING FUN. Play tabletop RPGs? Use your RPG engine of choice (like Fate
Core) to make a Symbiosis RPG. Are you a 3D modeler? Use the designs.
Make comics? Write? Cosplay? This is your toolkit. Take what I'm making,
build on it, play with it, impress us all with what you can do. There's so much talent out there, and I cannot wait to see this world through your eyes.

REWARDS

PROP-ARTIFACTS

Handmade prop-artifacts make up another aspect of Symbiosis. While these are rewards/incentives, they are also there to help seed the
creation by you of more artifacts from the world of Symbiosis.

MY STORY

Hi! I'm Steven Sanders. I share a name with a
"Beverly Hills, 90210" character, but we don't seem to have anything else
in common. Unless being really cool counts. I'm really cool.

I have over a decade of professional experience in the illustration
field. My work has appeared in the distinguished SPECTRUM
anthology, and I've drawn a number of comics for Marvel and Image (WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN, WOLVERINE, DEADPOOL TEAM-UP, S.W.O.R.D., FIVE
FISTS OF SCIENCE, OUR LOVE IS REAL). I've produced advertising and video
game illustration for a number of large companies. In 2007 I made
the first comic book in the western hemisphere made for cellphones.

I'm an engineer who realized he wasn't good at math and decided to fall
back on art. I read copious amounts of literature on medicine,
engineering, biology, neurochemistry, foundry and machine shop work,
radio theory, aeronautics and rocketry, philosophy, esoteric magical
traditions, world history... anything I can get my hands on. Symbiosis
sprang from thinking about our relationship with technology; the way
that technology can be seen as a living organism unto itself, and how
that shapes the world we live in.

I use all of this to inform my work and make it as real (or
real-seeming) as possible. Concept art and world-building lets me be the
engineer I never was; it lets me build the impossible (or improbable)
without all the "math" and "physical laws of nature" that are so pesky
and crucial to actual engineers. It's playing in the pool of the
aesthetics of technology, science and other trappings of human
civilization.

FIN

If you've made it this far, congrats! Thank you so much for looking at and considering this project! I hope I get the chance to produce it for you.

* The Creative Commons license is an "Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported" license, to be specific. Click the below image for full information.

Commercial license will be easily granted with an affordable
licensing agreement. If the project is small (i.e. It's not for a
corporation or an LLC) I'll likely not ask for any cut or fee at all.

Risks and challenges

Risks:

Delivery delays:
As a professional illustrator, one thing that I pride myself on is never leaving a client hanging when they need material from me. There may be production problems with the book or props, but if there are delays, you will be told of them, and I will get these products to you.

Prop-artifacts:
Since I have never made props on a large scale before, my estimates may be off regarding delivery time. I don't anticipate any problems, as I've done several dry runs, and have padded the delivery date out a bit, but if there are any delays, they will be promptly communicated.

There is also a possibility for international orders of the First Aid kit that your local customs may think I'm sending you drugs or a bomb or something, (There are no hazardous materials in the kit, but someone overzealous might think I'm sending some kind of crystalline drug) so I'm afraid I cannot be held responsible if the prop shows up rummaged through by your local customs officials. I think, though, that this risk is fairly small.

I may be hit by a car or something and die. If possible I'll see what I can do from beyond the grave.

Keeping promises:
There will definitely not be any hardcovers beyond what is made for this Kickstarter. If through some happenstance a publisher asks for rights to this book, they will only get softcover rights, and nobody gets a book before the backers do, period. You made this happen; you come first.

Support

Select this reward

Pledge $1 or more
About $1.00

PERSON OF GOOD CHARACTER LEVEL: You receive 1920x1080 wallpaper of the "Falling" Symbiosis image, a sense of contributing to a fun project, and if we have the pleasure of meeting in person I will shake your hand and give you my warmest thanks.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $20 or more
About $20

APPRENTICE LEVEL I: Symbiosis e-book plus fortnightly production emails showing how the paintings, sequentials, concept art, and prop-artifacts are being produced. If you wish for the email updates to be added to another reward you purchase, please add $10 to your pledge, and you can request this addition when I contact you after the drive is over.
(e-book will be delivered when the others ship. Delivery date is for the start of the emails.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $50 or more
About $50

APPRENTICE LEVEL II: Symbiosis e-book plus 1/2 hour Skype portfolio review. We will pore over your work, be it concept, sequential, or cover work, for a 1/2 hour. I'll teach you every concept design trick I can in this time-frame. If you are already really good, spare time can be spent chatting if you are so inclined.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $85 or more
About $85

BIBLIOPHILE LEVEL- ENSIGN: Symbiosis hardcover book -- 11x17, limited edition, signed/numbered. The book will be 100+ pages, with clamshell box, foil-embossed box logo, debossed book logo, and tipped-in overlay vellum sheets. This is a very fancy-pants book, made for people who collect and appreciate books. I collect pre-1940s books, and the hardcover reflects that design aesthetic. This will be the only hardcover version of this book, ever. Also comes with Symbiosis e-book.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

THIS LEVEL BUILDS CHARACTER: Going from your description, I'll design a character for you based on the Symbiosis universe. Front/back pose, B/W line art with color. You'll be sent a print-resolution digital file to use how you see fit. You can request to have the character designed prior to Symbiosis being released, or after. Also comes with Symbiosis e-book.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

BIO-MECHANIC LEVEL: Going from your description, I'll design a vehicle for you to use based on the Symbiosis universe. Front/back view, B/W line art with color. You'll be sent a print-resolution digital file to use how you see fit. You can request to have the vehicle designed prior to Symbiosis being released, or after. Also comes with Symbiosis e-book.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $105 or more
About $105

FICTION IS REALITY/REALITY IS FICTION LEVEL 2: Symbiosis e-book plus prop-artifiact Bezrodynm First-aid/Survival Kit. Includes emergency foods, medicines, and bio-etheric beacon. Guaranteed to work on worlds with a Bio-etheric level above 5.0 on the Lovelock Scale. (All props made by the author. They are made for display, and are not recommended for children.) (e-book will be delivered March 2014.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $345 or more
About $345

BIBLIOPHILE LEVEL- ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET: You'll get everything in the other BIBLIOPHILE levels (e-book, hardcover, all four prints, both prop-artifacts), your name in a "My Sincere Thanks to:" section of the book, and I will probably pass out.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $350 or more
About $350

GENERIC PINUP LEVEL: I'll draw a pinup of whatever you wish based on your description* for your comic, project of choice, or just personal enjoyment. The pinup can only have one person/character in it. (No team/group pinups.) Black & white line art with color. You'll be sent a print-resolution digital file to use as you see fit. Also comes with Symbiosis e-book. (e-book delivery in March 2014.)
*(Within reason. No extreme violence or sex, please.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $400 or more
About $400

FICTION IS REALITY/REALITY IS FICTION LEVEL 3: Your likeness and/or name will appear as a character in the book, your name will also be in the "My Sincere Thanks to:" section of the book. Also comes with Symbiosis hardcover, e-book and a high chance of my passing out. I get the vapors a lot.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $1,000 or more
About $1,000

PAINTED COVER LEVEL: I'll make a fully painted cover of whatever you wish, based on your description*, for your comic, project of choice, or just personal enjoyment. You'll be sent a print-resolution digital file to use as you see fit. Also comes with Symbiosis e-book. (e-book delivery in March 2014.) * (Within reason. No extreme violence or sex, please.)

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $2,000 or more
About $2,000

LEARNED MASTER LEVEL- Are you an expert (self-taught or with diploma) in physics, linguistics, esoteric religions, economics, or some other field that you think would be relevant to Symbiosis? Do you want to make a direct contribution to the content of the book? This level makes you a scientific consultant to the project, with your name on the frontispiece along with mine. Your input in the relevant field will be used to shape applicable areas of Symbiosis. As a cherry on top, you also get everything in the "ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET" level, and, if you so desire, you are invited to spend an afternoon with me in my Kansas City studio working together on the areas relevant to you. (You'll need to cover your own travel expenses and room & board. I'll gladly take you out to lunch and/or dinner, though!)